1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lighting device and a display device, each device having a light modulation element exhibiting a scattering property or a transparent property with respect to light.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, a liquid crystal display has been rapidly improved in image quality or advanced in energy saving, and a method of partially modulating intensity of light from a backlight has been proposed to improve scotopic contrast. In the method, mostly, light emitting diodes (LEDs), used for a light source of a backlight, are partially driven to modulate light from a backlight in accordance with a display image. In addition, size reduction has been increasingly demanded in a large-size liquid crystal display as well as in a small-size liquid crystal display. Therefore, attention is being focused on an edge light type, where a light source is disposed on an edge of a light guide plate, rather than a type where a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) or LEDs is/are disposed directly under a liquid crystal panel. However, it is hard to achieve partial drive, where light intensity of a light source is partially modulated, in the edge light type.